Ike-hit businesses struggle to reopen

Published 12:00 am, Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Ebb Moore, owner of Parlours in Orange, and employee, David Franklin, ready new furniture for a reopening after Thanksgiving.
Valentino Mauricio/The Enterprise

Ebb Moore, owner of Parlours in Orange, and employee, David Franklin, ready new furniture for a reopening after Thanksgiving.
Valentino Mauricio/The Enterprise

Ike-hit businesses struggle to reopen

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Usually this time of the year, Parlours, a home decorating store, is filled with the glitz and glitter of the Christmas season.

But this year, owners Kim and Ebb Moore are working furiously just to open the store by Tuesday without all the seasonal trimmings.

Kim Moore said she's not even sure how many Christmas decorations they have in stock. Parlours, on Green Avenue in historic downtown Orange, is one of the Orange County businesses struggling to open after the storm surge of Hurricane Ike flooded vast areas. Parlours had 2?? feet of water inside, while the back warehouse had 3?? feet. The Moores stored the Christmas decorations in the warehouse.

The Beall's department store in Pinehurst has a large banner in front reading "Grand Opening." The store on MacArthur Drive by Adams Bayou was one of the ones flooded, and it opened last week in time for the holiday season and Friday, which is known as the busiest shopping day of the year.

Across MacArthur Drive in West Orange, Don Crawford, owner of Unique Car Audio, thought about not reopening after the flood. He retired from ExxonMobil in April and opened the shop in June. He closed and evacuated for Hurricane Gustav at the end of August. When Ike arrived Sept. 13, it ruined the store.

"We just had to throw (the inventory) away in the dump," he said.

He didn't want to reopen after disagreements with the landlord, but decided he would spend his own money to fix up the shop. In exchange, the landlord gave him four months of free rent.

He opened Nov. 17 and customers already are buying stereo systems for Christmas presents.

"Anyone who pulls up, we're not chasing them out on the street," Buchanan said.

Their target date to open is next week. Tuesday, they hooked up their computer system so they can sell items from their inventory.

"We were hoping to be open by Thanksgiving, but everything is taking longer," Eiden said.

Bayou Trading Co. had about 18 inches of water inside, ruining most of the stock. Buchanan vintage Christmas items planned for holiday display were boxed on the floor of their warehouse in the back of the store and were flooded.

"I think we (now) have two manger sets and a couple of Santa Clauses," Buchanan said.

Linda Flannery at Cajun Corner on Texas Avenue in Bridge City said the furniture-gift store had only about an inch of water, but part of the roof blew off. The store managed to open two weeks after Ike.

Cajun Corner has a stock of kid-sized furniture, like a little Victorian sofa and a contemporary dining set, for gift-giving. Mattress sets have been the biggest seller at the store in the town that had nearly every house flooded.

Brandon said even with the hurricane damage, the Bridge City Chamber is getting calls from out-of-town businesses wanting to open stores.

"This is an opportunity to come back better. It's really exciting," she said.

Kim Moore said Parlours lost the roof in Hurricane Rita and then suffered the flood damage from Ike.

"We never thought about closing; we never thought about moving," she said.